Your Guide to Integrated Solar Roofing

Carlinea Williamson
February 20, 2018

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It’s hard to avoid news about rising energy prices & global warming, but not every story is offering a solution. This one is different. While everyone is looking for smarter ways to create green energy & lower the impact on the environment, Bristile Roofing has introduced an awesome new product that does just that, plus ticks the boxes of great design.

Everyone knows that rooftop solar systems are a great way to help with energy costs and generate clean power, but now Bristile have taken that another step forward and introduced a product that doesn’t just sit on top of your roof – the solar panels are integrated into your roof tiles.

What are Bristile Integrated Solar Roof Tiles?

Bristile’s solar roof tiles are literally just that – a roof tile with solar power generating capabilities built in. So when you are building or renovating your house, you build your solar power into your roofline without having to add an additional system.

After installation, the Bristile Integrated Solar Roof Tile runs like any other solar system – generating electricity for your home and either feeding excess power back into the grid, or storing it in your own battery, and all the time lowering your electricity costs.

The key difference is the aesthetics, an integrated solar roof tiles will blend in seamlessly with your roofline. At this stage the integrated solar tiles work with two of Bristile’s ranges – the Planum flat ceramic roof tile(Link to Listing) and the Prestige flat concrete roof tile.(Link to Listing) And as you would imagine, they are only available in dark colours like black and charcoal.

Bristile’s research suggests that choosing concrete or ceramic roof tiles as your roofing option, is a great starting point for creating an energy efficient home. Their research shows that roof tiles are 7.8% more efficient at reflecting heat away from the home in Summer, as well as having lower embodied energy. Plus did we mention that concrete tiles are a very cost effective roofing option, requiring little or no maintenance over their long life?

What are the advantages of solar roof tiles?

So what are the advantages of Bristile’s new product? Aesthetics is the really big one. The Integrated Solar Tile means that there is no distortion or distraction from your roof line – for all intents and purposes it is just your roof, as it was designed.

And if you are building from new, or doing a substantial renovation with new roofing, it means that you are not paying twice – once for your roofing and then again for your solar panels to cover it.

But the other really important benefit of Bristile’s Integrated Solar Roof Tiles is that they allow you to maximize the amount of roof space you dedicate to generating power. Lots of homes only have a limited amount of roof space that is correctly aligned or oriented for solar power generation. If your home is one of these, choosing an integrated roof tile over normal panels at the time of construction means that you can utilise the whole of that roof angle to generate power, not just the space that you can install panels into.

Plus like all solar systems, Bristile’s Integrated Roof Tile System counts towards your homes sustainability. In NSW they are already approved for the BASIX audit.

Bristile has recognized just how important clean, green, cost effective energy is going to be in our future & have invested in the complete range of products needed for rooftop power generation. So in addition to the integrated roof tiles, they offer traditional solar panel systems, high quality inverters, as well as the German made Sonnen home battery system.

The battery system gives you the flexibility to store electricity, and use it when you need it most, which for most households is the evenings and early mornings. The alternative is to sell it back into the grid for a lower price (known as a Feed In Tariff) than you’d purchase your power for.

How much does integrated solar roofing cost? And how does it compare to traditional solar?

Its all sounding so good – the question I know you are asking, is yes but how much does it cost?? Well like everything, it depends!

As a starting point are you building a new roof or adding solar to an existing roof?

If you are retro fitting solar to your roof, then the integrated roof tiles most likely aren’t going to be a cost effective option for you, but you should definitely look at Bristile’s traditional solar panel packages. (link to Traditional Solar Ads).
But if you are building a new home or planning a substantial renovation where you are replacing the roof or extending it, then you should definitely consider the integrated solar roof tiles.(link to store listing).

The choice is really between the cost of the integrated solar roof tiles and installation versus the cost of roofing plus the cost & installation of traditional solar panels over the top. Every thing else – the inverter, the battery and the smart monitoring is the same.

Then you need to find the right size solar system for your home and energy requirements, and whether or not you choose to include a battery.

Bristile’s Integrated Solar Roof Tiles do need to be installed by a Clean Energy Council accredited installer, but this also applies to your traditional solar roof panels.

The very first home in Australia to feature this new technology is currently being built in Gledswood Hills, NSW by Mirvac. And as this photo shows, the roof line is seamless with the choice of the Integrated Solar Roof Tiles over traditional solar panels.